'Blade Runner 2049' short with Jared Leto bridges gap from original film

Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Jared Leto stars in a Blade Runner 2049 prequel short titled 2036: Nexus Dawn that helps connect the upcoming sequel to the original film.

The clip, released Wednesday, is the first of three planned shorts that will fill in the gaps between 2019, when the first Blade Runner takes place, and 2049, when the new story takes place.

Directed by Luke Scott, the son of Ridley Scott who directed the original and is producing the sequel, the video features Leto as Niander Wallace, a replicant inventor as he pleads his case to end the replicant prohibition.

According to Leto's character, his new replicants, the Nexus 9, are more obedient then ever as he demonstrates how one will follow his commands to kill itself. "This is an angel and I made him," the actor says of his invention.

Blade Runner 2049, starring Leto, Ryan Gosling and a returning Harrison Ford, is set to arrive in theaters on Oct. 6.